Hi, I‘m Lorena and welcome to The Stress Less Pencil. We use art as a tool to boost our mental health and wellbeing. The weekly prompts are designed for total beginners and experienced artists alike, so welcome.
I blame growing up with movie montages. When the underdog kid joins the baseball team / learns to dance / starts to box. We see them getting their asses handed to them at first, but instead of giving up, they decide to push through the pain. And then - BAM - movie montage. Inspirational music plays as we witness our heroes practice and become better and better. Until they are so good that they win the championship / get into the prestige dance school / defeat the reigning champion. All over the course of three minutes.
What’s the result? Impatience. The idea that if I want something badly enough I can get really good at it really quickly.
Unfortunately, that’s not how any of this works. When I draw, I often get frustrated by the difference between what I had imagined and how it ends up. Unfortunately, I had to learn that I can’t simply close that gap in three minutes all while awesome music is playing.
So I get frustrated, and lose patience really quickly. I’ll think of a new project, or theme, or new art supply, get really excited, then do it once or twice, and then move on to the next thing. I hardly give myself time to master anything, to fully explore it.
I need to constantly remind myself that practice doesn’t make you perfect, but it makes you suck a little less every day.
So this week, we’ll practice practicing.
The Activity: Create a Series of Drawings
Step 1 - Pick a Theme
We want to create a series of at least three drawings, ideally more. Pick a subject you enjoy spending time with. For example, you could draw the characters of your favourite cartoon, or create different portraits of your dog. You could also draw the flowers and plants on your window sill, or the view out your window. Whatever it is, make sure you love it.
Step 2 - Pick a Tool
Now choose which medium you want to work with. Pen, pencil, watercolour, digital? You’ll be using the same medium for all of your drawings, so you can get better at using it.
Step 3 - Practice
Get started on your first drawing. I recommend using references, and looking up techniques and tutorials along the eay. No artist is born in a vacuum.
When you’re done, take a quick note of what you liked about your work, and what you feel you could have done differently. Then do another drawing of the same subject in the same medium the next day, and again the next.
Your work might be evolving a lot, or just a little. But by the end, you will feel more comfortable with your medium, you will have figured out new ways to approach your subject, and you will have laid the first stone of building yourself a “practice to practice”
My Example
I’m naturally drawn to drawing nature. (I’m just going to go ahead and pat myself on the back for that sentence). I was already getting into drawing European folk art when we were talking about connecting to something bigger in Prompt #52.
Since then, I’ve also been to a 90s music festival, and got to indulge in the nostalgia of the flashy bright plastic-y aesthetic I grew up with. So my theme for the week was Folk Art with a 90s twist. Here are the results:
I loved drawing these. A LOT. Even though the last one might not seem particularly “better” than the first one, there’s a lot I got to improve on over the course of these four drawings. Composition, shading and texture, how to layer and blend my pencils. I got back into the habit of drawing every night, while listening to an audiobook. And I also have a freshly stocked Pinterest board with folk art references, and a head full of new ideas.
There might be more Folk Art plus X drawings coming your way in the future.
Love, Lorena
Bonus
Me and a Nokia at the 90s festival.